Medical knowledge and practice have come a long way since the ancient Egyptians. William and Helen Bynum explore how various cultures have viewed the sick and healthy. They examine medical practice through the ages, from the letting of blood to keyhole surgery and the latest surgical breakthroughs, and from the theory of humours to the genetic revolution. The Bynums contrast the holism of non-Western traditions with the concentration of Western medicine on ever smaller parts of the body.
William Bynum is professor emeritus of the history of medicine at University College London and Helen Bynum is the author of Tropical Medicine in the 20th Century.